Collision
by Dreaming Fantasy Dreams
Summary: Fred Weasley and Hermione Granger. Two different people. A pranker and a bookworm. What happens if their two worlds collide? Will sparks fly? Will they even both survive the oncoming war?
1. A Summer Day

**_Important:_ **Okay, before you start, I need to let you all know that this was requested, and in order for me to be true to my word, I tried to get this up as fast as possible. She wanted this to be a Fremione pairing, and if you don't like that, you can certainly leave right now, but no hard feelings, yeah? And before you get all confused, I'd like to give a fair warning that this fic takes place just a little before Harry gets taken to Grimmauld Place.

_**So Abii, here's your long awaited Fremione fic **_**_:)_**

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

_**A Summer Day**_

* * *

Hermione Granger was sitting with Ginny Weasley in their room at number 12 Grimmauld Place. Now, before you protest that there is no such address, I can assure you that there is. And I can assure you that it is no place for Muggles (non-magical folk). Now, when I say non-magical folk, I mean _non-magical. _And Hermione Granger, with her bushy brown hair and bossy attitude, is a witch. And so is Ginny Weasley, the youngest of six siblings, and the baby in her family. Now, Hermione Granger, you must all know, is only one third of what they call the 'Golden Trio'. Ron Weasley, the second youngest of the Weasley clan, is another third of it. And the last third? Well, that's where the story starts, doesn't it?

Now, I'm sure we all know who the Boy Who Lived, or, commonly known as, Harry Potter, is. And at this point of the story, well, he wasn't exactly where Hermione and Ron were. In fact, he was in a whole different place. To be exact, on this very day that this story starts, Hermione Granger was reading one of her textbooks, as was usual with her, Ginny was writing a letter, Ron was off somewhere else in the house, and Harry Potter was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four Privet Drive.

* * *

"Hermione, Ginny, you might want to come down to hear this." Molly Weasley whispered from their doorway.

Both Hermione and Ginny looked up from their occupation. The reason they all had to whisper in number 12 Grimmauld Place was because of Mrs Black, Sirius's mother, hanging in the hall, and any slightest noise would get her temper flaring, and Merlin, was it nasty. Molly Weasley walked further up the stairs to gather the rest of the Weasley's. Hermione and Ginny both set down their things and walked downstairs on tip-toe.

"What do you think they want us to hear?" Ginny whispered.

"I don't know, but what ever it is, I hope it's good news." Hermione whispered back.

"Do you think it's anything about the Order?"

There was silence for a moment as they reached the hall.

"No," Hermione finally whispered. "We're not of age yet."

"Fred and George are of age, and yet, they're not in the Order."

"That's because Mrs Weasley doesn't want them in danger."

"True..."

They reached the kitchen, where a few members of the Order of the Phoenix was standing. One or two were pacing anxiously. One of these members just so happened to be one Remus Lupin.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked quietly.

He seemed to come out of his trance and looked at her.

"We, that is to say, Ginny and I, were wondering what you's wanted us to hear."

"I'm sure Arthur will be telling us soon. He just went upstairs in a hurry, said something about the Improper Use of Magic Office and writing a letter."

"Oh."

Hermione and Ginny sat down in one of the spare chairs available and waited for the rest of the Weasley's to come down.

When they were all assembled; Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Ron, Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vince, Sturgis Podmore, Hestia Jones, Sirius Black, Hermione and Ginny, Arthur Weasley cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him.

"I have been told that Harry has been sent a letter from Mafalda Hopkirk, head of the Improper Use of Magic Office." he announced.

"What ever for?" Hermione gasped.

"For using a Patronus Charm in front of his Muggle cousin."

"A-a Patronus Charm?" Hermione faltered. "But why? Surely not to send a message. He can't do that yet!"

"I wouldn't put it past him, girl." Mad-Eye Moddy growled.

"But... The only thing you would use a Patronus Charm for is to ward off Dementors." Bill Weasley spoke up.

"That's right. We don't know for sure exactly why he did it, after all, he does know the rules about using magic." Arthur replied.

"What does the Ministry want to do?" Kingsley asked.

"At first, they wanted to expel him from Hogwarts, snap his wand and wants him to attend a hearing on the twelfth of August at 9 a.m."

"Bloody hell." Ron swore.

"Ronald Weasley! I have brought you up better than that!" Molly scolded.

"Sorry." he muttered.

"I just sent Harry a letter telling him that Dumbledore is at the Ministry, and he's not to go anywhere and not to use any more magic, and not to surrender his wand."

"If the Ministry finds out what you've done, you'll be in some serious trouble, Dad." Charlie said.

"I know." Arthur said grimly.

"We like what you've done!" Fred and George chimed in.

"Of course you would." Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

When everyone had turned their attention back to Arthur, Hermione was sure one twin had winked at her.

"I'm sure Dumbledore would manage to sort this out." Tonks finally said.

There was a moment of silence, a silence in which they could hear the front door opening and closing. Footsteps walking towards the kitchen. Everyone looked at each other, tense. Hermione caught a twin's gaze, a twin she was sure was Fred. He lifted a brow slightly, as if to ask 'you feeling okay?'. That was when she noticed she was trembling and she swiftly averted her eyes to look at the kitchen door. It creaked open, and in the hall light, they could see a tall figure standing there, a familiar figure. Everyone blew out a sigh of relief.

"Dumbledore!" Fred and George greeted.

Dumbledore stepped into the kitchen and smiled grimly at everyone.

"Evening, Mr Fred and George Weasley."

"What's the news?" Sirius immediately asked.

"The Ministry has revised its decision to destroy his wand. They are still wanting him to attend the disciplinary hearing, but he is suspended from school until further notice."

Everyone gave another sigh in relief.

"Well, that's good news, right?" Ron asked doubtfully.

"It most certainly is better news than what we are getting these days." Dumbledore replies. "Dark days are ahead of us, we must not forget that. Now, we must have volunteers to pick Harry up."

"Pick Harry up?" Ginny repeated.

"Why, yes. We need an advance guard, you could say. Just in case you run into any Death Eaters out there on your journey. So, vounteers?"

Almost everyone raised their hands. Dumbledore surveyed the room.

"Unfortunately, we cannot have everybody going. I must only pick a handful, and you will be travelling by brooms."

Hermione slowly lowered her hand. She was never one for flying brooms across the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts, never mind flying one half way across the country.

"Ginevra Weasley!" Ginny flinched at her name. "You are most certainly not going half way across the country in open air!"

"But Mum-!" she started to protest.

"No buts! Ronald, you will not be going either!"

Both Ron and Ginny glowered at their mother.

"Now, upstairs, the pair of you." she watched her two youngest children sulk away. "Hermione, dear, you might want to go as well." she added.

Hermione nodded and hurriedly walked out of the kitchen. Even though Harry was one of her best friends, she did not intend to go flying across the country to help bring him to Grimmauld Place, on a broom, no less! She found Ron and Ginny in the bedroom Hermione and Ginny shared. Both Weasley's were sitting on a bed each, glaring at the floor.

"He'll be here soon." Hermione reassured.

"Yeah, would've been better if we were one of the people bringing him." Ron sulked.

Hermione rolled her eyes and paced the room. The waiting for one of her best friends to come back to them had started.

* * *

**_Author's Notes_**

Okay, I'm pretty sure this first chapter was rubbish. That was because I was rushing it, and left out a few details, like how Hedwig was meant to peck their fingers. But I promise from now on that I'll try not to leave anything out anymore. I am still writing my other fanfics too, so keep your alerts open! As for you Abii, I hope this was at least bearable, and you can just tweet me how you thought it went, or you can leave a review, I'll be fine with any :) As for the rest of my readers, please leave a review or anything! :)


	2. Reunited At Last

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or anything. All credit goes to JKR for the most magical world to ever exist.**_

Yes, I'm back with the second chapter of this Fremione fic :)

**A very special thanks to Abii, the person who requested this fic, or, known as Weasleytwinlove-95 :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Reunited At Last**_

* * *

Hermione was still pacing the room. Ron and Ginny had given up their sulkiness long ago. There was silence in the room, apart from the occasional hoot from Hedwig and an excited shriek from Pigwidgeon. Finally, Ginny broke the silence.

"When do you think he'll get here?"

"I don't know, but I sure hope it's soon." Ron replied. "This waiting is killing me."

"You just need to learn some patience Ronald." Hermione replied, her own patience growing thin.

Ginny abruptly stood up.

"I'm going to see if they've started the meeting. I might listen in on them."

"Ginny!" Hermione cried out in protest and indignation.

"Oh, come off it Hermione, it's not like you've never wanted to know what they're talking about." Ron said in exasperation.

"Well, I have, but I would never suggest _eavesdropping._"

"It's not like you've never done it before." Ron replied, raising his brows.

Hermione flushed and glared at him. By this time, Ginny had sneaked out quietly. Another moment of silence passed, in which Ron and Hermione could hear the stairs creaking. Hermione stopped her pacing and stared at Ron nervously, who had stood up.

"Could that be...?"

"I don't know." Ron whispered.

"He's sure to be angry at us." Hermione whispered fearfully.

The doorknob turned and the door opened. They only had to take one glance at the doorway to know it was their best friend. Hedwig twittered loudly and Pigwidgeon let out a loud shriek and started to fly around their heads in a fit of excitement. Hermione flung herself at Harry, hugging him tightly, almost knocking him to the floor. She couldn't help but give out a little cry of excitement and joy.

When she finally let go, Harry just blinked at her, as if deciding if he was happy to see them, or angry at them for not updating him about what had been going on. As they were trying to explain to their best friend about their absence, Hermione could see that he was ready to explode.

And explode he did.

Hermione couldn't help the sting in her eyes that signalled that she was going to start crying. She really loathed it when people were mad at her for the things she had no control over. But she loved her best friends dearly, they were like brothers to her, brothers she'd never had. That was why, when Harry had finally cooled down enough, Hermione quickly apologised for their absymal letters and they quickly started answering his questions, scared that he'll blow off again. Whilst Hermione was explaining what her and Ron had been doing to the house, there was a loud crack, like a gun shot, and two identical redheads appeared in the middle of the room.

Fred and George Weasley. The legendary prankers. The Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The identical twins.

It had to be admitted that Hermione's heart did a little jump in her chest, and it was not because of the fright they had given her, though it was partly that.

One twin. One in particular. The taller one. The older one. The one who was currently grinning at her, a twinkle in his eyes. Fred.

Hermione quickly looked away. Why was it that she had been looking at him as of late? And why was it that she kept catching him look at her? Something was off, and she hoped he was not planning to play a prank on her. After all, the Weasley twins were notorious for their pranks.

Avoiding Fred's eyes, she told them off weakly for Apparating into the room when they could've just walked down the stairs. After they conversed with Harry for a few minutes, the door creaked open and Ginny slipped in.

Ginny told them how Mrs Weasley had put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door, where they were having an 'important' meeting, so they couldn't listen in with the Weasley twins' Extendable Ears. They all looked crestfallen at the news, including Hermione. She really _did_ want to hear what they were talking about.

The tension in the room seemed to drop a bit as Harry finally got the news he had been deprived of all summer. Hermione really did feel sorry for him. Having to live with his horrible relatives every summer, when they don't even look after him right, never mind treat him right. Harry seemed shocked by the news of Percy, though.

Percy Weasley. The third eldest of the Weasley children. The most ambitious. Probably the smartest out of the Weasleys, but also the stupidest. The most annoying. The most boring. The Weasley who had practically disowned his family for his job, just because he had been promoted.

Hermione knew Harry had disliked Percy the least out of the Weasleys, but she had always been able to get along with him. She supposed that she was _still_ shocked by what Percy had said. It was just _horrible._ She would never have thought of saying that to her own father, never mind Mr Weasley.

When they explained how the Daily Prophet was trying to make him into someone nobody could believe, Hermione was sure Harry was ready to explode again. She saw the warning signals and hastily changed the subject, which so happened to lead to his Ministry hearing. He seemed to deflate a bit after that and started to look around uncomfortably.

When they heard the footsteps coming up, Fred pulled on his string of Extendable Ears and him and George Apparated back to their room. Hermione had to admit that her heart dropped a little, even though she would most likely see them at dinner. When Ginny had been sent down to wash her hands, and Mrs Weasley following her soon after, Hermione explained to Harry one last time about Dumbledore, but he cut her short, not unkindly, but firmly, as if to say that the conversation was over.

Ron stopped them at the landing, hoping they would overhear a tidbit of information from the witches and wizards below, and Hermione saw a flesh coloured string come down slowly in front of her. She saw that Harry was staring at it too. They both blinked and looked up to see Fred and George both cautiously lowering their Extendable Ears. Hermione once again caught Fred's eye and he winked at her. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and she quickly turned her attention back to the floor below. But when they started filing out the door, the Extendable Ears disappeared, and she heard one of the twins curse.

Hermione warned Harry to keep his voice down low in the hall and just when they were about to walk into the kitchen for dinner, there was a crash.

"Tonks!" Mrs Weasley cried out.

"I'm sorry!" Tonks cried out. "It's that stupid umbrella stand, that's the second time I've tripped over-"

Before the she could finish, there was a blood-curdling scream. Hermione winced and covered her ears, trying to drown out the screaming of Mrs Black's portrait. It was absolutely horrible, the portrait. Whenever someone made a noise that was even slightly loud, the curtains to it would fly open, and Mrs Black would scream out obscenities about how her house was getting put to use. Harry's eyes widened at the screaming, not expecting it.

Before anyone could do anything, two wizards came bursting out of a room; Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Hermione, with her hands clasped tightly over her ears, could see that Sirius was shouting at the portrait, and the portrait was screaming back. Then, suddenly and without any warning, the screaming stopped. Sirius and Lupin, with a great effort, had managed to force the curtains back over Mrs Black. Hermione slowly uncovered her ears. A slight ringing was in her head. She blinked a few times and saw Harry and Sirius talking, so she decided to let them have a little time together and went through to the kitchen.

She slightly stumbled through to the kitchen, faint spots threatening to consume her vision, and a light but painful thumping within her head. She felt a hand grab her upper arm, steady her and set her into a chair. Once her vision had properly cleared, she saw Fred Weasley sitting in the chair beside her, leaning in her direction.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded slightly. There was still a thumping in her head.

"You don't look okay." he commented.

"I-" she stuttered as she finally registered just how close he was. She pushed him back slightly and frowned at him sternly. "I was just feeling a headache coming on."

"Hopefully not from your favourite Weasley twin?"

"Actually, I'm starting to feel that it is." she answered without thinking.

She saw him flash a grin. She didn't like the look on his face _at all._

"So, you're starting to feel that I'm getting annoying, or you're starting to feel that I _am_ your favourite Weasley twin?"

"I-" she cut off again as she realised what she had said. She flushed. "No, I-" she stammered to a stop again as she realised he was giving that Cheshire Cat grin of his. _Now this is just getting out of hand, _she thought to herself. "What I meant was, I _am_ starting to feel that you are getting annoying." she said.

"Okay, but your headache had originally started when Mrs Black started screaming, yes?"

Hermione nodded.

"So, Hermione, I was thinking... How 'bout we start being, well, friends, huh?" he asked casually.

Hermione blinked a few times.

"I-_what?_"

He flashed that devilish smile of his for only a second, but it was enough to unsettle her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to look for someone who would rescue her, but Mrs Weasley and Ginny were both getting dinner ready, Mr Weasley and Bill had disappeared some where for a bit, and Harry and Sirius must still be in the hall, probably with Ron and Lupin.

"C'mon Gred, stop harassing Granger over there." a voice sounded from the other side of Fred.

Hermione let out a breath of relief as Fred leaned back in his chair.

"It's not like you haven't wanted to harass her, Forge." Fred replied easily.

George leaned across Fred to study Hermione. Unable to keep his gaze (he looked too much like Fred), she averted her eyes to the table, desperately trying to recall the twelve uses of dragon blood. When that didn't work, she recited the ingredients needed to make Polyjuice Potion.

_1. Twelve lacewing flies, has to be stewed for twenty-one days._

_2. One ounce of-_

Her thoughts got cut off as she realised George was talking to her. She noticed he was giving her a questioning look, so she came to the conclusion that he had asked a question and was waiting for an answer.

"Yes." she answered, not really bothering to ask what the question was. She thought that if she would just answer their questions, they would leave her alone.

Was she wrong...

"Gred, you're in luck! She said yes!"

"Since you said 'yes', do you want to come next Saturday?"

Hermione blinked. Once. Twice. Then she noticed the way George was grinning at her and gulped. What had she answered 'yes' to?

"Wait, what was the question?" she demanded.

"Forge asked you if you would ever go on a date with me." Fred replied.

"I... He... _What?_" she spluttered.

"I asked you if you would ever go on a date with Gred." George said, still grinning.

Hermione groaned.

"I didn't even hear the question when I answered!"

"You still said yes anyway." George replied.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her frenzied heart.

"You do know we're only joking, right?" a voice said, and somehow, she could tell that it was Fred.

"Fred, the thing is, it's hard to tell if you're joking or not. You two are like the master of pranks." she replied, eyes still closed.

There was a silence. Hermione opened her eyes to see what had happened. Fred and George were staring at her with wide, surprised eyes.

"What?" she said self consciously.

"You were able to tell us apart-" Fred started.

"-with your eyes closed." George finished.

"And if we didn't know it already,"

"We'd say you are a witch."

"Because nobody else-"

"-could do that-"

"-with their eyes closed!" they both chorused.

Hermione blinked blankly at them. She couldn't really think; she could definitely feel the headache coming on, but the way the twins always finish each other sentences really got her muddled up.

"I... I guess you're right." she said slowly, trying to gather her temporarily scattered thoughts.

Fred and George both looked up at the same time as Sirius and Harry both walked into the kitchen. Hermione turned around in her seat and watched as Mr Weasley greeted Harry, then Bill greeted him and Vanished a pile of scrolls.

"Think we should help Mum set out the table?" Fred asked.

"Oh, sure, like the _perfect_ sons we are." George snorted.

"She knows we are."

"Of course. After all, _we_ weren't the ones who chose our career over family."

"Right you are, dear brother, right you are."

Hermione smiled slightly at them both. She had to admit, she liked their banter, and wished she had a sibling with whom she could've had jokes with. Fred and George both stood up, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Well Granger, our teasing was nice while it lasted." Fred said, grinning down at her.

"Yeah Granger, but enjoy our silence while it lasts." George added, holding the same grin on his face.

"When are you twins _ever_ silent?" she asked, raising a brow.

"She got us there, George." Fred said, turning to his twin.

"Yeah, stuck in a sticky situation." George pretended to frown.

The twins both shared a look. Hermione shook her head at them both, still smiling and a brow raised.

"Well Granger," George finally turned to her. "I'd say we're silent-"

"-when we want to be."

"And when are you's _ever_ wanting to be silent?"

Fred and George both tilted their heads at the same time. It gave Hermione a little thrill to watch them do things simultaneously.

"When we're sleeping!" they both replied.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you's both talked in your sleep."

"That's our point, Granger." Fred said.

"We _don't_ talk in our sleep." George ended triumphantly.

Hermione was stumped. What they had said didn't even make any sense! Well, not to her at least. She stared at them helplessly.

"Huh?" was her smart reply.

They both laughed at her expression.

"We have to go help Mum." they both said before she could unravel their confusing replies.

"Now wait a minute...!" she raised her voice slightly.

But the twins were already through the door, still chuckling. Hermione huffed and crossed her arms across her chest and frowned at the table.

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

Okay, sorry for not updating this sooner! I was originally meant to have this chapter up on Monday night, but life kept me busy for the past week, and I was busy revising for an important exam! And I know I missed out _a lot_ of dialogue from the book, but this _is_ a fanfic, not to mention a _Fremione_ fic. So, I won't be surprised if this chapter was less than satisfying to you readers, but even a review containing a flame would be nice :)

**Thank you for your reviews on the first chapter!**


	3. Questions

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter, all credits go to J.K. Rowling**_

**Abii, I am so sorry for not getting this up sooner. The computer broke down, and a whole load of things happened in the summer which basically ruined my year. The only good thing is; the computer's working again! But I can only get on it once a week, and that's if I'm lucky enough to not have homework**

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Questions**_

* * *

"Ginny... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure you can."

Hermione and Ginny were sitting on their own single beds in their own room at Grimmauld Place, after the talk at dinner about a mysterious secret weapon. She wasn't sure if she had been imagining it or not, but every time, during the talk, Hermione looked at Fred, he would quickly look away.

"Well... Was it just me, or... Fred would look away whenever I tried to make eye contact?"

Ginny raised a brow at her bushy haired friend.

"I never noticed."

"You're his sister! Hasn't he said anything about me? Is he planning to prank me?"

Ginyn shrugged, slightly amused.

"I dunno. Usually you would know if the twins were up to something."

"So, he's _not_ planning to prank me?"

"Not that I know of."

Hermione let out a breath of relief.

"That's fine then. I was starting to worry that I would have to watch my back for a while. He's been acting strange all night."

"All night? How 'bout all _week_?"

Hermione laughed, causing Ginny to join in.

"Well, he has, but... Yeah..."

"Hermione, just forget his strange behaviour. Really. If anything, it would be causing George to worry, if he doesn't know what's wrong with him already."

Hermione nodded, reassured by the redhead.

* * *

"George, what do you think it meant?"

"What do you mean Fred?"

"During the talk. She kept looking at me, then looking away."

George rolled his eyes at his elder twin.

"Fred, don't look into it too much. It probably just meant you had something on your face or something." George laughed.

Fred grinned at his twin, glad of the laughter.

"But you don't think she _knows_, do you?"

"How would she know? Fred, you're not that obvious."

Fred raised his brows.

"Well, maybe you are a little. Look, like I said, don't look into it too much. Girls are a crazy, strange species of human. What they do contradicts what they say."

"True..."

George threw a pair of boxers at Fred's face.

"C'mon Freddie, let's get some sleep. Now that Harry's here safe and sound, I bet Mum would make us do something 'helpful' around the house."

Fred took the boxers off his face and stripped his clothes.

"Yeah? How much you betting?" he asked as he pulled on the boxers.

"Five Galleons." George promptly replied as he done the same.

They climbed into bed.

"Lights out, George."

George flicked his wand and the light went out.

"G'night, Freddie."

"G'night Georgie."

* * *

Fred passed George five Galleons under the table as Molly announced that they will all be helping to clean the house (this with a stern look at the twins). After they finished breakfast, they all made their way to the drawing room, where they were to get rid of Doxys.

"Cover your faces and take a spray," Molly instructed them.

Fred and George exchanged looks, thinking about one of the inventions they were currently working on in secret.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Forge?" Fred muttered to George as they all took a bottle of black liquid.

George nodded once, his eyes gleaming. "Always."

"It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad- _what_ that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years -"

Fred and George both had to try and keep a straight face as they saw the look Hermione gave to their mother.

"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage-"

"You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to, Hermione," Sirius interrupted as he walked in the room with a bloodstained bag full of dead rats.

They all turned to Sirius, wondering why he was there.

"I've just been feeding Buckbeak," he added to all of them.

The twins shared another knowing look, knowing the story of how Harry and Hermione saved Sirius _and_ Buckbeak through Ron, who had told them what had happened.

"I keep him upstairs in my mother's room. Anyway... this writing desk..."

They all got sidetracked as they watched Sirius approach the slightly shaking locked cabinet.

"Well, Molly, I'm pretty sure this is a Boggart," Sirius announced, "but perhaps we ought to let Mad-Eye have a shifty at it before we let it out- knowing my mother, it could be something much worse."

George shuffled closer to Fred and muttered in his ear.

"What do you think your Boggart will take the shape of?"

"I really don't know. I don't really know what I'm scared of. Yourself?"

"I don't know either."

All heads turned to the door as the loud sound of a clanging bell came from downstairs, followed almost at once by the wails and screams of Mrs Black.

"I keep telling them not to ring the bell!" Sirius said in exasperation as he hurried out of the room.

They all watched as Harry closed the door as slowly as he dared, the twins smirking at him.

"Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because Doxys bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it."

Fred grinned at the back of his mother's head as she straightened up and stood right in front of the curtains, gesturing for them to step forwards.

"When I say the word, start spraying immediately," she instructed. "They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyse them. When they're immobilised, just throw them in this bucket."

George's eyes held a glint in them as Molly stepped out to the side to give them all a clear shot. He made eye contact with Fred, gave him a slight nod, and focused back on the curtain.

"All right- _squirt_!"

They all immediately started spraying. George sprayed one full blast in the face and quickly pocketed it, checking to see if anyone saw.

"Fred, what are you doing?" Molly asked sharply. "Spray that at once and throw it away!"

George and Harry both turned to see Fred holding a struggling Doxy at arms length between his forefinger and thumb.

"Right-o," he said to Molly brightly.

They continued to watch as he sprayed the Doxy and pocketed it when their mother's back was turned, giving Harry a wink and George a thumbs up. George grinned. Trust Fred to get caught. He shuffled closer to Harry as he saw that he was still curious as to why they were taking Doxys.

"We want to experiment with Doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes," he muttered under his breath.

Harry quickly sprayed two Doxys when they flew towards his nose before replying, moving closer to George.

"What are Skiving Snackboxes?"

"Range of sweets to make you ill," George replied, keeping an eye on Molly. "Not seriously ill, mind, just ill enough to get you out of class when you feel like it. Fred and I have been developing them this summer. They're double-ended, colour-coded chews. If you eat the orange half of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up. Moment you've been rushed out of the lesson for the hospital wing, you swallow the purple half-"

"'-which restores you to full fitness, enabling you to pursue the leisure activity of your own choice during an hour that would otherwise have been devoted to unprofitable boredom.' That's what we're putting in the adverts, anyway," Fred whispered, joining into their conversation as he sneakily edged out of Molly's line of vision, sweeping stray Doxys into his pocket as he did so.  
"But they still need a bit of work. At the moment our testers are having a bit of trouble stopping themselves puking long enough to swallow the purple end."

Harry looked at Fred with a puzzling expression on his face.

"Testers?" he questioned.

"Us," Fred answered. "We take it in turns. George did the Fainting Fancies-we both tried the Nosebleed Nougat-"

"Mum thought we'd been duelling," George cut in quietly.

Harry pretended to tighten the nozzle on the spray.

"Joke shop still on, then?" he muttered as quietly as he dared.

Fred and George glanced over at Molly before Fred answered.

"Well, we haven't had a chance to get premises yet," he explained, talking even quieter than Harry. "so we're running it as a mail-order service at the moment. We put advertisements in the _Daily Prophet_ last week."

"All thanks to you, mate," George grinned at him. "But don't worry... Mum hasn't got a clue. She won't read the _Daily Prophet_ any more, 'cause of it telling lies about you and Dumbledore."

Harry grinned back at George, at the pair of them. After forcing his thousand Galleons prize money from the Triwizard Tournament onto the twins, he had really hoped Mrs Weasley wouldn't find out his hand in them running a joke shop. She did not approve of it, and he was thankful they had kept it between just the three of them.

* * *

For the rest of the morning, they all de-Doxyed the curtains. It was surprising how many Doxys the curtains could hold. Fred and George were delighted about the amount of Doxys they were able to sneakily put in their pockets without their mother noticing. Finally, after midday, Mrs Weasley let them have a break.

"I think we'll tackle _those_ after lunch," she had said, after pointing at the dusty glass-fronted cabinets on either side of the mantelpiece.

As they all looked over at the mantelpiece, the clanging of the doorbell could be heard again.

"Stay here," Mrs Weasley said firmly and sternly as they all looked at her. "I'll bring up some sandwiches."

As she closed the door behind her, they all ran to the window to look down at the doorstep.

"Mundungus!" Hermione exclaimed as they all saw the top of an unkempt gingery head with a stack of precariously balanced cauldrons beside him. "What's he brought all those cauldrons for?"

Fred, George and Ron shrugged at her as Ginny stayed silent, watching.

"Probably looking for a safe place to keep them," Harry answered. "Isn't that what he was doing the night he was supposed to be tailing me? Picking up dodgy cauldrons?"

"Yeah, you're right!" Fred answered as it came back to them. "Blimey, Mum won't like that..." he added on as they continued to watch as Mundungus walked through the door when it opened, heaving his cauldrons through behind him.

Fred and George both walked towards the door at the same time, putting their ears to it.

"Mundungus is talking to Sirius and Kingsley," Fred muttered, his brows furrowed in concentration. "Can't hear properly... d'you reckon we can risk the Extendable Ears?"

Hermione gave a disapproving look as George answered, both of them ignoring her.

"Might be worth it," George looked at his twin. "I could sneak upstairs and get a pair-"

George was cut off as there was a sudden explosion of noise. There was certainly no need for the Extendable Ears anymore as all of them were able to hear exactly what Mrs Weasley was saying.

"WE ARE NOT RUNNING A HIDEOUT FOR STOLEN GOODS!" she was currently shouting.

Fred and George grinned at each other.

"I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else," Fred said as he opened the door slightly, "it makes such a nice change."

"-COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE, AS IF WE HAVEN'T GOT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING STOLEN CAULDRONS INTO THE HOUSE-"

"The idiots are letting her get into her stride," George commented as he shook his head. "You've got to head her off early otherwise she builds up a head of steam and goes on for hours. And she's been dying to have a go at Mundungus ever since he sneaked off when he was supposed to be following you, Harry-and there goes Sirius' mum again."

Mrs Black's voice could be heard throughout the whole house again, drowning out Mrs Weasley's tirade. George was about to shout the door, but a small figure slid into the room before he could do so. They all saw that it was a house-elf.

The elf acted as though it did not see the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry standing there, making it's way to the far end of the room as it kept muttering to the floor.

"...smells like a drain and a criminal to boot, but she's no better, nasty old blood traitor with her brats messing up my mistress' house, oh, my poor mistress, if she knew, if she knew the scum they've let into her house, what would she say to old Kreacher, oh the shame of it, Mudbloods and werewolves and traitors and thieves, poor old Kreacher, what can he do..."

"Hello, Kreacher," Fred said loudly as he snapped the door shut, annoyance and irritation showing on his features.

Kreacher, the house-elf, froze halfway across the floor as he stopped muttering, before giving a very exaggerated but unconvincing start of surprise.

"Kreacher did not see young master," Kreacher said as he turned and bowed to Fred, muttering to the floor, "Nasty little brat of a blood traitor it is."

"Sorry?" George butted in. "Didn't catch that last bit."

"Kreacher said nothing," the elf replied, also bowing to George. "and there's its twin, unnatural little beasts they are." he added.

Fred and George shared a look of deep dislike whilst Hermione was looking at the elf in what appeared to be pity. Harry, on the other hand, had no idea if he wanted to laugh or not. He was very much a house-elf, but he was nothing like Dobby as Kreacher straightened from his bow and looked at them all maliciously.

"...and there's the Mudblood, standing there bold as brass, oh, if my mistress knew, oh, how she'd cry, and there's a new boy, Kreacher doesn't know his name. What is he doing here? Kreacher doesn't know..."

Harry looked on in amusement as Kreacher appeared to believe they could not hear his 'mutterings'.

"This is Harry, Kreacher," Hermione stepped forward almost hesitantly. "Harry Potter."

They all watched as Kreacher's eyes widened to saucers and began to mutter at a faster pace.

"The Mudblood is talking to Kreacher as though she is my friend, if Kreacher's mistress saw him in such company, oh, what would she say-"

"Don't call her a Mudblood!" Ron and Ginny burst out angrily as Harry continued to stay silent, his lips pressed tightly together.

Everyone in the wizarding world knew 'Mudblood' was a foul name for Muggleborns like Hermione.

"It doesn't matter," Hermione whispered almost inaudibly, "he's not in his right mind, he doesn't know what he's-"

"Don't kid yourself, Hermione, he knows _exactly_ what he's saying," Fred cut right across her, not looking at her but choosing to continue to look at Kreacher.

Meanwhile, Kreacher was still muttering, but now eyeing Harry too.

"Is it true? Is it Harry Potter? Kreacher can see the scar, it must be true, that's the boy who stopped the Dark Lord, Kreacher wonders how he did it-"

"Don't we all, Kreacher," Fred said sarcastically, ignoring Hermione's look of disapproval.

"What do you want, anyway?" asked George before Hermione (or Fred for that matter) could say anything more.

Kreacher quickly glanced at George.

"Kreacher is cleaning," he said vaguely.

"A likely story."

They all turned to see Sirius standing in the doorway, glaring at the elf. Everyone could no longer hear Mrs Weasley or Mrs Black, which meant they had both been calmed down, or, in Mrs Black's case, had the curtains shut on her. But at the sight of Sirius appearing in the doorway, Kreacher bowed ridiculously low that practically squashed his nose to the floor.

"Stand up straight," Sirius said with impatience, waiting for the order to be obeyed. "Now, what are you up to?"

Without anyone noticing, Fred and George sneaked out of the room.

* * *

"George, she keeps giving me _these_ looks, like she's suspecting me of something! I mean, I'm not even _doing_ anything suspicious, am I?"

George shook his head, almost laughing at his twin.

"What!" Fred exclaimed. "George Weasley, you share the joke right now, or may Mum have your head."

At this, George burst out laughing as they reached the room they were currently staying in at the House of Black.

"It's nothing Fred. We're pranksters, what did you expect from her? Sunshine and flowers? She probably just thinks we're up to something, or going to play a prank on her, or something along those lines."

Fred thought about this.

"You think so?"

"No, I don't think so. I know so."

Fred grinned broadly at George.

"C'mon, let's get working on those Skiving Snackboxes."

They locked the door and took out their box filled with Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougats, setting to work with the new Doxys they managed to nick from under Mrs Weasley's nose.

* * *

**_Author's Notes_**

Again, I am very sorry for the _very_ long wait, and I'll try to make it better, but I can't guarantee anything. I am also sorry for a boring chapter, and shall try to make them more interesting in future whilst keeping to the main storyline. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and it's boring-ness


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